


The taste of poison

by NatalieRyan



Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Comfort, Day 4, Emotional Whump, Gen, Jack Whump, James MacGyver's A+ parenting, James gets punched, Mac Whump, Sick Jack, Whump, Whumptober 2020, Worried Mac, attempt of murder, chelation therapy, lead poisoning, not James MacGyver friendly story, poisoned Jack, poisoned Mac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26824453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatalieRyan/pseuds/NatalieRyan
Summary: Way back when SabbyStarlight and I talked about me possibly writing for Whumptober, I decided to look at old prompts from 2018 and 2019 to get an idea about which prompts were usually the same or similar and start a list on my own. There was one in 2018 about illness and my brain immediately went like what if Jack was poisoned? And then the evil part of my brain helpfully supplied: what if James was poisoning Jack? That's how this story was born.I want to write a longer version of this story, and hopefully I can do that one day. This is the "little" version for Whumptober.Thanks to SabbyStarlight and N1ghtshade that listened to me scream about this story, and to the discord bunch that cheered me on when I mentioned the idea.Thank you tetrodotoxinb for the help on the choice of poison and for chatting with me about the possibilities and some of the ideas you supplied me with that I ended up using in the end.Oh, and if the name of the doc sounds familiar... if you have seen CSI, you'd recognize it as the name of the officer on Gedda's payroll in season 8.Beta by N1ghtshade. Any remaining mistakes are mine.
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948579
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	The taste of poison

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SabbyStarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabbyStarlight/gifts), [N1ghtshade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/gifts), [TetrodotoxinB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TetrodotoxinB/gifts).



> Way back when SabbyStarlight and I talked about me possibly writing for Whumptober, I decided to look at old prompts from 2018 and 2019 to get an idea about which prompts were usually the same or similar and start a list on my own. There was one in 2018 about illness and my brain immediately went like what if Jack was poisoned? And then the evil part of my brain helpfully supplied: what if James was poisoning Jack? That's how this story was born.  
> I want to write a longer version of this story, and hopefully I can do that one day. This is the "little" version for Whumptober.  
> Thanks to SabbyStarlight and N1ghtshade that listened to me scream about this story, and to the discord bunch that cheered me on when I mentioned the idea.   
> Thank you tetrodotoxinb for the help on the choice of poison and for chatting with me about the possibilities and some of the ideas you supplied me with that I ended up using in the end.   
> Oh, and if the name of the doc sounds familiar... if you have seen CSI, you'd recognize it as the name of the officer on Gedda's payroll in season 8.   
> Beta by N1ghtshade. Any remaining mistakes are mine.

It had been a while since Mac felt like this. 

It wasn't much about what, but who exactly triggered him.  _ Jack _ . 

Mac was too young to remember his mother much beyond the last few months of her life, but he remembered it clearly when she got sick. And that Mac felt helpless when she started wilting in front of his eyes. Little Angus was told that she had cancer and they tried to tell him that it was going to be okay, that she'll feel better soon. But it was all lies. She wasn't getting better. And he didn't know why it hurt so much, but when he was older and could understand things better and could look up for himself; he learned that it hurt because they lied to him in the face of protecting him from the pain. Maybe that was the reason why Mac refused to admit he was hurting or sick. If he didn't admit that out loud, he wouldn't be lied to that it would get better when it was anything but. Granted, he was never in a situation where he had to tell someone that things were going to be okay when he didn't even have that information for sure. But Mac appreciated people's honesty. 

It still hurt, and Mac knew that with everything that happened after his mom died, he would have appreciated the truth even though the pain would be unbearable in every scenario. 

Mac didn't know why Jack feeling sick made him think of his mom, but it was really putting a damp on his mood. They had a day off and were holed in Jack's apartment, marathoning some of the movies they had on their Netflix queue, but Mac was just staring in space as the current movie on TV droned on. Mac wasn't paying much attention, instead keeping an eye and ear to the bathroom where Jack disappeared half an hour ago and he was still in there. Mac started to worry.

They had had their fair share of bathroom emergencies throughout the years so Mac knew that whatever it was would hurt a lot going out, but it was better because the relief once it was over compensated for all the pain. 

Yet, that niggling fear in the back of his head made him think that this was more serious than any stomach bug or bout of fever they had ever faced. Jack was like this for weeks now and Mac started to worry it was more than an upset stomach or a stomach virus. 

And there was also the muscle pain that was constantly making Jack's hands tremble and sometimes he said his arms and legs were tingling like ants were crawling all over him. Which wasn't a pleasant picture to have in his brain, but Mac appreciated Jack at least sharing that information with him. That in turn made Jack prone to mood swings. He was easily agitated and several times he snapped at Mac without meaning to and it led to several sleepless nights where Jack was thinking he'd lost it, that he fucked up and ruined their friendship. It tore at Mac's heart to see Jack so out of it. Mac just wanted to make it stop. 

The fatigue and malaise were another cue that this was not just the ordinary bug area, because Jack usually conquered those fairly quickly and never allowed himself to let one last this long. 

(Especially having Mac to ride his ass after all the time Jack had pestered him to not leave even a common cold untreated). 

There was the nausea as well that wouldn't vanish no matter what. Jack had barely eaten anything in the past few days and that was worrying Mac even more. He had barely ingested anything all day, so why was he spending so much time in the bathroom? 

If Mac closed his eyes he could try and forget for a while, but the memories slammed right in him like a freight train. His mom, asleep with her head on the toilet bowl after a bad bout of nausea and little Mac finding her like that when he had to pee at 2 am. His mom barely keeping her eyes open, but staying up late when Mac fell from a tree and had to be admitted to the hospital. She stayed with him the whole night while they waited for him to be released. His father was so pissed and yelled at Mac for being reckless. His mom was the one to yell at his father then because the kid had enough bad things happening to him as it was so  _ could he please stop shouting? _

Mac shuddered out of the memory when he felt the couch shift and Jack carefully sat on it and immediately hugged a pillow to his chest. His stomach was still rumbling, but he looked to be done for the moment. Jack was pale, a fine sheen of sweat on his temple, and a deep frown etched in his features. But when his eyes landed on Mac, Jack smiled and at that moment it wasn't Jack, but his mom smiling at him, cancer eating her away, tired, yet smiling at him with all of her might. 

Mac felt the tears break free even before Jack's smile morphed into worry. 

"Hey, hey, hoss, what's wrong?" 

Mac could only shake his head and then he was pulled into a strong hug despite Jack being so sick at the moment. 

The irony wasn't lost on Mac, he was the one being comforted while Jack was the one that should have been comforted. It made him feel weak, and pathetic. He was being comforted while one of the most important people in his life was hurting. It was as if Jack could listen to Mac's inner turmoil and hugged Mac harder, while Mac sobbed his soul out. 

That in turn made Mac squeeze Jack tighter as his arms circled around Jack's back.

"Oooof, kid, not that I mind you hugging me, but easy on the crushing, will ya'." 

Mac released Jack from the death grip, but didn't move and felt one of Jack's hands on the back of his neck, gently rubbing. 

"Mac, bud, what's wrong?" 

Mac didn't want to tell Jack. It would only add to Jack feeling guilty about Mac remembering his mom and being sad over it. 

"It's okay if you don't wanna tell me. Just, are you okay?" 

Mac wasn't okay. Not by a long shot. But he nodded regardless. It beat having to make Jack feel even worse. 

"Shh, it's gonna be okay. Jack's gotcha." 

...

Over the course of the next several weeks things continued to go downhill. Jack still felt ill, and despite trying every medicine in the book plus natural and herbal medication to ease the permanent pain that resided in his stomach, he still felt like shit (pun not intended). But what started as harmless several times a day trips to the bathroom extended into being unable to go the bathroom, at all, and that brought an even bigger pain. The pain and tingling in his muscles continued and at one point his hand couldn't move and Jack had to transfer his gun into his left hand. He was trying to not scare himself and Mac but for a while he was worried he was having a stroke and that would have been just his luck. 

But it wasn't a stroke and after a few moments the feeling in his right arm came back. But it left Jack feeling deeply unsettled. 

And then there was Mac. Who was worried out of his mind and Jack could tell without Mac confiding in him. Bless his partner's soul, he probably thought that it would add more to Jack's current problems if he told Jack that he was worried. It hurt him to see the kid so sullen. As soon as this mission was wrapped up they were going to talk. 

The thought of getting checked out wasn't a bad one either, so he probably had to get an appointment with his doc at Phoenix Med. Which reminded him that he had an appointment with the doctor that gave him the cortisone injections for his back. He started with the therapy three months ago when he pulled his back during a mission that required him to crawl through a tiny space. Last time he had to do it, his shoulder got dislocated. This time the sacrifice was bigger. It put him out of commission for a while ultimately leading to him finally caving in and seeking relief. Doctor Pritchard told him that the effect would take place in a few weeks. But weeks turned into months and then eventually he told Jack that they had to continue with it for at least two more weeks for it to take a better effect.

Jack should have just outright asked the doctor one of these days if he was stab happy or just that worried for Jack himself. Getting that shot when he was pretty much constantly in pain made him feel nauseous. 

That was one more thing that worried Jack as well and he'd seen Mac eyeing him when he thought Jack wasn't looking. Jack started to lose weight. And it was obvious with how many tight t-shirts Jack owned and they all started to look funny on him. 

His head spinning at times did not help either and the last time the vertigo was so bad he ended up staring at one point in front of him for three hours and when he finally thought he had it under control, he moved and it all came back. 

The headaches weren't as frequent as the stomach pain and the nausea, but still present and Jack knew that he never experienced migraines but the kid had and if judging by how miserable Mac felt when he had one, he started to think he was experiencing them as well. 

He holstered his gun and as he moved around to meet the team, he discovered his vision was a bit blurred. Jack rubbed at his eyes to clear them out, he was dead tired after being up until 3 am last night, but not that much for his sight to be affected by it.

Jack was sure he was irritating his eyes by constantly rubbing them, but his sight was still blurry and it wouldn't budge. 

He could of course ask Mac to help him out. But that would ask of him to actually locate his partner. And he couldn't see straight. 

Jack was sure that after this, a trip to his doctor's office was a given. He didn't want to think of the worst, but perhaps there was something wrong with him and the sooner he looked into it the better. 

Mac materialized next to him and he startled Jack that jumped when he felt the presence of someone next to him. The only way he knew it was Mac was by the way Mac walked and it scared Jack how much he relied on his eyes on a regular basis. Not that he didn't know how to track someone with his hearing or sense of smell, but that wasn’t the point. 

"Hey, big guy, let's wrap this up and go home. Boze will make burgers and honestly, I'm starving. We can even have a beer on the deck. What do you say?" 

Jack hated to be a party pooper. He really did. But when Mac mentioned burgers something in his stomach lurched and he felt a pang. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled in hunger, but he knew that the second he ate those burgers they would come right out. 

"Jack, what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?" 

Mac had a little warning to move as Jack just hurled what meager breakfast he had that morning and felt as if his insides tried to claw his way out of his mouth. It was  _ that _ bad.

He was still heaving when he felt the gentle touch of Mac's hands on his shoulder and neck and even though he was a bit out of it, he realized they were trembling. 

There was no more delaying the inevitable. 

"Mac, bud, I think we have to make a pit stop before we go home." 

…

Mac tried not to let his anxiety show as he got behind the wheel of his Jeep. They used his car for this mission and he was glad because even if he wanted to, Jack wasn't going to be able to drive at the moment. The moment Jack stopped with dry heaving, Mac pulled some tissues and wipes he had in his tac vest and handed them to Jack. Jack quirked an eyebrow in question. For all he was teased, Mac did like to be prepared, thank you very much. He helped Jack out of his tac vest and placed it on the backseat before carefully situating Jack in the passenger seat. And Mac knew if this was a normal situation, Jack would grumble because Mac was doing everything for him, down to buckling his seatbelt, but Mac couldn't give a damn about what anyone thought about it. 

With Jack settled, Mac started the car and they left the scene. On their way to the hospital, Mac called Matty to ask for a couple of days off for him and Jack, claiming that Jack ate something bad last night and he was going to take care of him. Food poisoning sounded like a legitimate excuse and Mac didn't want anyone prying about the way Jack was feeling for now. Mac was selfish, he knew, everyone cared about Jack. But this time he was going to take things into his hands.

Mac had to give himself the credit for not going hysterical over his partner vomiting everything he ate this morning (and Mac would know, he was there to see the food go in. And sadly to see it come right out). It was disconcerting how worse Jack got as the time progressed and there was no way they weren't going to Medical now..

Although, Mac had a different idea. He took a left turn instead of right on the next intersection and drove towards the hospital he usually went to for flu shots with Jack. Jack, even as disgruntled as he felt, recognized the change of route and was about to ask when Mac started explaining. 

"I... I'm sorry for changing the route, but I have to..." 

...

Mac suddenly slammed on the brakes. That jostled Jack and he wondered what happened when he noticed the kid opened the door and practically slid to the asphalt underneath his feet. Jack felt marginally better and he was worried so he got out, too, slowly. He walked to the driver's side door and when he saw Mac crouched on the ground, his eyes unseeing, it stopped Jack in his tracks. 

He crouched next to Mac and slowly put his hand on Mac's shoulder. For his credit, the kid didn't flinch, but didn't move to look at him either. 

"You know my mom died of cancer, right?" 

Mac's voice was flat, but hoarse like he tried to hold himself together. Jack didn't know what triggered this, but he nodded. 

"Yes, I do." 

Also, Mac almost never talked about his mom. 

"She was... I remember she was strong and powered through the pain and the treatments and everything. Through me being my usual self." Mac chuckled but it was self deprecating and Jack wished to know what memories were coursing through Mac's head just now.

"She was so ill. The longer it went, the more I could see she was feeling awful. Built up a front for me. Didn't want me to worry. She was determined like that. Stubborn. Not giving up despite the pain." 

"I can see where you got all that going from." Jack joked to break the tension and it worked when Mac smiled and finally looked at him. 

"You are a lot like her, you know? You try to downplay the way you feel, but I can tell. You are the most selfless person after my mom. And I appreciate that, I do, but... You don't have to." 

"What brought this on, Mac?" 

"I know you've been feeling sick for a while now. And you are trying not to show it. But I can see it. My mom... she..." 

Mac closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but he didn't cry. 

Suddenly, Jack realized why Mac was so on edge and constantly sad and looking at him with worried eyes. 

"Oh, Mac." 

"I just can't help, but think... What if... I can't even say it." 

"We'll think about it after we get a sure thing on what's wrong with me. Don't stress yourself over this." 

"But... Jack! If this is cancer then-" 

"First of all, not everyone that gets cancer dies, bud. Your mother was one of those that died from it. But it doesn't have to mean that I have it or God forbid that I would die." 

"I just don't want to lose you, too." 

Jack saw the moment Mac's calm crumbled and he heaved a sob. He was there to gather the kid in his arms and let him cry for as long as he needed. 

Mac was shaking and trembling in his embrace, but it wasn't so bad considering the circumstances and where they were. 

"I'm so sorry, kid. It's not your fault. I'll be okay. Whatever it is, it's gonna be okay." 

...

Which in hindsight was the wrong thing to say when several days later Jack got a phone call about his results. And the subsequent visit to the hospital where the doctor explained what was the cause of Jack's constant pain and declining health. 

Doctor Parker was the doctor they both went to when they usually needed a check up and he was the one they went to. He was trying to be as encouraging as possible, but as he ordered all kinds of testing, the anxiety in both Mac and Jack increased. Blood was drawn multiple times for several purposes, among them testing for several types of cancer. Jack was poked and prodded a lot by what he called "stab happy people", but he was willing to endure it as long as he got viable results with what was happening to him. 

Couple of days later, before the news of the diagnoses they both waited for, the doc told Jack that he was anemic and that anemia could be a symptom or what the doc called differential diagnosis, to several other illnesses. 

(That explained the bruises Jack had that he didn't know where he got from and those that took ages to heal). 

So, therapy for that settled, Mac started to gradually relax, but he was still holding his breath over the other diagnosis. 

Which wasn't cancer, thank God. 

But it was something maybe as equally or more scary than cancer. Something that neither man predicted. 

Lead poisoning. 

They were both stumped when the doc explained to them the findings in the results. How it affected the kidneys the most and that in Jack's case it was obvious that lead poisoning led to some bone aches and muscle pain. As he described symptoms and explained the treatment, they were both suspended in time as the doctor droned on.

Something in particular that doctor Parker mentioned was the type of lead poisoning and how it helped determine the level of toxicity in the bloodstream against the period of time that the lead was absorbed in the body. 

"Lead poisoning may be acute, and that happens from intense exposure of short duration or like in Mr. Dalton's case it could be chronic. And that one comes from repeat low-level exposure over a prolonged period. The latter is much more common." 

He then proceeded to explain what could lead to the poisoning and that had them additionally scratching their heads. It was a lot to process at once and they left the appointment feeling relieved it wasn't cancer, but still there was another impending doom. Treatable, but still. 

Jack was given a list of treatments, names of medications he couldn't pronounce just so he could review over and what were the outcomes, side effects and the best way to decide on it. 

It was mind boggling and so all of a sudden that Jack found himself dumbfounded. 

Mac knew that they would have to report this to Medical because Jack would have to go to chelation therapy, as soon as possible to reverse the damage the lead already did in his system. But it all seemed all of a sudden and Mac didn't want to deal with any of it today. 

It was one of those moments where he was stumped and he knew there were things to be figured out and he wanted to do this for Jack because Jack had done so much more for him throughout the years. But they deserved a night off without worrying. 

Which came as no surprise when Jack cried like he never did once they were home. 

…

Jack tried not to be bothered by his outburst. Mac had witnessed many others and worse than this, but still he felt self conscious. Like he shouldn't have cried. Like he should have powered through the news like a man and not let it get to him. Just a few days ago he held Mac in his arms as Mac cried about possibly losing him. And it wasn't that this predicament wasn't as bad as cancer itself was, but he was currently stuck between relief that he didn't have cancer and the dread that filled him when the doc told him he had lead poisoning. 

What was even worse, Jack couldn't think of anything that he accidentally might have ingested or touched that had a bigger concentration of lead in it. He tried and tried and he came up short on all fronts. 

Good thing was that they knew what it was right now, so he could backtrack his movements and possibly locate the source of the poisoning. 

The doctor insisted on a physical exam on top of the blood work that they scheduled for two days from now. It was to determine the level of toxicity in his body from the lead, because as Dr. Parker explained, there could be a high level of lead in the body even if the blood test came back normal. Which in Jack's case wasn't that normal, but he still wanted to see what was the concentration of lead in his body. 

Tracking back throughout the years of being Delta Force, CIA, the Sandbox, and now the Phoenix, previously DXS, it could be any of those wounds. There was one from the Sandbox where a piece of shrapnel was embedded in his body so deep they left it inside, and could very well be the cause. Or that bullet wound he got in Myanmar while with the Deltas. 

"I'm trying to come up with the reason, and why now, but nothing comes up. What are the odds that it'd wait for so long to appear?" 

"Well, it all depends on how long it has been in your body, if you are thinking of a bullet, or if it was something you touched." 

"I have no earthly idea. I'm sorry. For losing it earlier." 

Mac looked at him with a mix of confusion and question on his face. 

"If that is you losing it..." 

"I just. I can't help but think that I should-" 

"That you should what? Jack, there's nothing you could do that would be classified as losing it. You were just told that something very serious is happening with you. With your body. Hell,  _ I am _ freaking out right now. I don't know how to deal with it, and I'm not the one that's been sick for a while now." 

"You did think you'd lose me just recently, hoss." 

"True. What I'm trying to say is, it's normal to not know how to feel. You've just been handed a diagnosis and you still have a lot to process. Then more testing and treatment. It's okay." 

Jack could see only compassion and love in Mac's eyes. He was really happy he had Mac as a moral support. 

"Have I told you how happy I am that I have you in my life?" 

Mac chuckled and blushed, never gotten used to Jack freely professing his emotions and feelings even after oh, so many years. 

"I think that you have, with saving my scrawny ass times and again." 

"You are my everything, kid. Thanks for sticking around." 

"There's nowhere else I'd be, old man." 

"So. One day at a time?" 

"One day at a time."

...

And some fifty steps ahead, because Mac's brain worked in overdrive as it was, but trying to backtrack every mission they were on where Jack got hurt proved to be a challenge. While Jack became a pin cushion for the lab techs at the hospital, Mac also tried to do his best to coordinate the meetings at the hospital with their missions. Eventually his father would have picked up on it and Mac was hell bent on keeping James away from learning about Jack's medical condition until Jack started with the therapy. It was something that he couldn't put his finger on, but he preferred it if his father didn't know just yet. He called it a hunch, but deep down he didn't want his father to know about Jack's condition unless he absolutely must. 

The rational part in Mac told him that it was understandable for Jack to be taken off the field for the foreseeable future while he was undergoing tests and treatment because it could be dangerous on the field if Jack felt ill. 

But at the same time Mac didn't want to give his father the satisfaction to see Jack as needing time off to heal from something that was out of his hands. Because his father didn't approve of Jack despite claiming he paired them back in the Sandbox. It was like Jack was a thorn in James' side and whenever Jack needed some time off or medical leave, it was frowned upon and recently his father tried to convince Mac he needed a new Overwatch and not someone that was spending more time in the hospital than in the field. Which in turn barely stopped Mac from rolling his eyes at his father. For all his father prided himself in reading the reports and knowing what happened, he either blanked it out or completely ignored it that most of those times Jack had that time off because he saved Mac's life or was taking care of Mac when Mac was the one sick. In fact, Mac almost had the exact amount of days off on his record, but it was always about Jack. 

And Mac wouldn't call it an irrational fear because Jack was important to him and if his father pulled Jack from the field and assigned him another person to watch his back, it would probably be the straw that broke the camel's back and Mac was going to quit for sure without any qualms.

Speaking of the devil, and Mac wasn't about to apologize for referring to his dad with that word, he was on the phone yelling at someone. And Mac didn't know what got into him, but he hid himself out of sight and listened in. He was the last one to eavesdrop, but something about his father's posture was telling him that this was important. And Jack was in Medical, waiting to get his next cortisone injection and Mac went to tell Matty about Jack's current plan of therapy. Matty was looped in a while ago, because Mac figured she would be onto them, if she already wasn't, and Mac trusted her. Jack trusted Matty as well so he let Mac be the mediator between Jack's health and Matty. 

"I don't care about what you think is best. I pay you enough to do as I say and I don't care if you make him drink it." 

That picked Mac's interest and he pulled his phone out to put it on silent and saw a message from Jack, saying that he was going to be late. Mac sighed. 

"I can't wait anymore. He should have just keeled over by now, but the damn bastard is still working. In fact he hasn't taken a day off since when he caught a cold. According to my son at least." 

Mac almost dropped his phone when he heard what his father talked about with whoever was on the other end of the phone. Because it looked like he was talking about Jack. 

"They don't suspect anything, so as long as you do your thing and deliver what you promised, they would never before he is too sick to realize something is wrong." 

Then:

"How the hell should I know? You are the one that administers the cortisone, you idiot? Then why is he standing, still?" 

Mac was positive that he was going to hurl his breakfast. And possibly punch something. Or someone. 

"Pritchard, you are going to do as I ask you. Or instead of the records, I'll make you disappear. Understand?" 

Pritchard. The name of the doctor that gave Jack the cortisone shots. It was enough for Mac to act on a whim. 

He just quietly changed direction and opted out of using the elevator he flew through the stairs until he was in front of the sliding doors of Phoenix Med.

The receptionist recognized him and teased him about his other half pacing down the hall. Mac smiled and jogged till he got to the waiting room where he knew Dr. Pritchard's office was. And it was empty. Jack was inside. 

Shit.

Taking a deep breath he faked a limp and barged in through the door. And promptly startled the nurse and Jack that was getting ready for the shot. The syringe was still on the tray. 

_ Good _ . 

Jack immediately jumped and came to him. Mac used the momentum and Jack's surprise to stumble so Jack would catch him and come closer. 

"Hoss, what's wrong? What happened? Where are you hurt?" 

Mac pretended he was in pain and groaned then hissed and pulled Jack closer. 

"Mac? You are scaring me, bud." 

"Jack, I need you to trust me. Okay? I need you to play this off me. Oh and I hurt my knee." 

Mac whispered and despite Jack still being in shock, he nodded.

"What happened? Did you hurt your knee?" 

"I don't know what happened. It just hurts so much. And you know we are needed wheels up in 30." 

Jack's eyebrows went to his hairline and Mac hoped he wouldn't be too mad if what Mac heard was true and he ended up being the one poisoned. If Mac was wrong, he'd get a cortisone shot for non-existent injury and would walk it off. 

"Okay, what do you need me to do?" 

"Get me to the bed." 

Mac was grunting in fake pain and walked stumbled with Jack's help.

"Would you mind me getting your injection? We can't afford for any of us to be sidelined." He turned his eyes to the nurse and hoped his pleading voice would be enough. 

"I'm not sure if I should do that. I better call Dr. Pritchard and ask him." 

"Dr. Pritchard is busy. I heard him... talk on his phone." 

Mac faked like the pain was unbearable and he started listing, and thought Jack picked up on his lead. Pun intended. 

"I don't mind, Wendy. He can have my injection. This kid is important to me and I'd rather skip one injection. I can't see him in pain. It hurts me. No one has to know." 

Mac didn't know what helped, his improvised acting or Jack's despair, but the nurse nodded. He had the mind to prevent himself from giggling because  _ everyone would know _ if he was right about what was going to happen. He would also prove Jack's theory that he was a self sacrificing idiot. And by that Jack mostly meant that he had zero self preservation. Something about EOD techs or something. 

Jack stood to the side as Mac shucked his pants and sat back on the bed. He gritted his teeth as he was injected with the cortisone.  _ And possible poison _ . Which he promptly didn't tell Jack about. There was hell to pay if he stayed alive enough for the consequences. 

Mac guessed that the silver lining was that they'd at least go to therapy together. 

Mac felt a little loopy once the liquid was in his system. It was burning a little, but that was standard procedure with getting cortisone.

Then it hit him all of a sudden. He swayed to the side and Jack stopped him by gripping his arms. Mac could feel that something was wrong. He wished he was wrong. But as with everything else, he didn't get his wish granted. 

"Jack..." 

"Mac? What the hell is goin' on?" 

Jack sounded worried, and he started blurring in front of Mac as Mac tried to make words work. 

"Please don't be mad, okay?" 

"Hoss? What did you do?" 

"Lead. Doc. Syringe." 

And then the world went black.

...

Mac was walking on thin ice. And Jack wanted to be mad. So mad. Because his kid was currently coming down with kidney damage from the large amount of lead he was injected with. Something that the doc called nephrotoxicity that Jack checked out after the complicated words. The important thing was that his kid suffered from kidney damage, and he had two seizures on the way to the hospital Jack brought him to. He only trusted Doc Parker at the moment and he wasn't going to leave his kid in Medical where one possibly more medical professionals were corrupted. 

Mac's message was loud and clear right before he went limp in Jack's embrace and Jack vowed to learn who was at fault. Obviously it was Jack's doctor, but Jack opted to not share that information until he knew more. 

Mac waking up was crucial in how things were going to play out. 

In the meantime Jack had to endure dressing down from the boss himself and while it wasn't pretty and got him suspended for reasons unknown, he was still Mac's next of kin so James couldn't remove him from the hospital premises or from Mac's bedside. 

His partner was top priority no matter what. 

Once James left the hospital, Jack sat everyone down to explain to them what was going on and while both Bozer and Riley were in shock and obviously worried, they understood why Jack kept to himself with it. They also admitted that they were worried for him, and that they were glad he finally learned what was causing the pain. 

They both gave him hugs and if Jack held on tighter or longer than usual no one had to know except Riley and Bozer. 

Currently, Jack was sitting next to Mac's bedside, one of Mac's hands was encased in Jack's hands, one hand firmly clasped around Mac's fingers while with the other he rubbed soothing patterns into the knuckles. Mac did this for him numerous times and Jack was only now realizing how soothing it actually was. 

Jack closed his eyes and relished in the quiet, but desperately needed his kid to wake up and tell him he was okay and then they could talk about what Mac did. And Jack could tell him how reckless it was, but that he understood and that he won't hold it over Mac's head. 

Please, Mac, just wake up. 

"C'mon kid. Open those pretty blues. Come back to me." 

Jack kept at it with his hands and at first he thought he was imagining it, but then the hand in both of his hands squeezed and when Jack looked up, Mac was awake. 

Jack smiled despite himself and he could swear that he saw Mac sigh in relief. Jack pressed the button for the nurse and after the quick check up, Mac was asleep again. 

Jack settled in in the chair, Mac's hand still in his and he relaxed enough to grab some shut eye. Come morning they'd have to talk and clear things up. 

...

Jack started to think that he jinxed things up just by thinking of them. 

When Mac woke up in the middle of the night having a nightmare, it took a while to calm him down and even then he frantically looked between Jack and the door like he expected someone to come inside at any moment. 

Jack saw legitimate fear in the kid's eyes and despite seeing Mac scared before, this was on a whole another level and he wasn't sure he was ready to hear whatever it was that Mac learned that led to him willingly getting injected with something containing lead. 

Matty called half an hour ago to confirm that indeed, the syringe contained a larger amount of lead and that sealed what they already knew by Mac's willing sacrifice. Someone on the inside was poisoning Jack. Someone that no one would suspect, because doctors were supposed to help you, not kill you slowly. 

Jack wondered what happened for Pritchard to decide to poison him. Outside of getting his injections for knee or back injuries, they both rarely interacted. 

Jack thanked Matty for speeding up the procedure. They were in the hospital less than two days, but it was better to start collecting evidence as early as possible. Once Mac was more lucid and could talk, they could move on to the reason why. Jack wished Nick wasn't back in Texas because he desperately needed help on the evidence thing, and he knew Matty would squint a bit when it came to this team and let his cousin handle things. They couldn't let anyone else tamper with the evidence. 

And Jack thought the whole debacle with Nikki was the worst that could happen to the Phoenix. Not counting the breach of the Phoenix by the Organisation. 

Jack could feel a headache forming behind his eyes and tried to stop himself from thinking too much. He had to stay calm and focused. 

Like he said to Mac a while back. 

One day at a time. 

... 

Mac stirred on the bed and Jack was immediately on high alert. Mac scrunched his face and then slowly opened his eyes. When they landed on Jack he looked so relieved, Jack wondered what brought it on. They talked about Mac's fear of losing Jack, but this was more than that. 

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jack whispered. 

"M'everything hurts." 

"That will happen when you get injected with lead that's enough to kill you if undetected."

Jack tried for nonchalant, but his heart was breaking for Mac and the look on Mac's face when he said that was enough to kick him into overdrive. 

"I'm sorry. I know I screwed up. I should have told you. But there was no time. I..." 

The monitor started beeping as Mac got more agitated and Jack immediately jumped to action. 

"Hey, hey, hey, breathe. Calm down. Shhh. It's okay. You are okay. Well, not okay, okay, but you are alive. And that's all that's important." 

Mac opened his mouth to tell Jack something, but it was then that James came into the room, followed by Bozer, Riley and Matty. 

They all wished Mac speedy recovery and Jack was left once again with a metallic taste in his mouth, but this time it wasn't a symptom of the poisoning, but rather the taste of blood because he bit the inside of his cheek hard.

Mac looked uncomfortable and Jack wondered why that was. He kept glancing at his father, subtly of course and James was especially stilted around them. Mac pleaded with Jack with his eyes not to leave him alone and despite everyone telling him he should get some rest, Jack refused to listen to them. The kid needed him.

Later, after James and Matty left, and Jack made Bozer and Riley swear they wouldn't leave Mac alone, he went back to his apartment and showered. Armed with change of clothes for both him and Mac, Jack returned back to the hospital and relieved Bozer and Riley from duty. 

He could tell Mac was ready to get out of his skin, so he let him start talking. 

"It was my father." Mac's breath hitched and Jack was about to ask if Mac was sure, but one look at Mac's guilt stricken face was enough to tell him that yes, Mac was sure. 

"Son of a bitch." Jack muttered to himself and his hands tightened into fists. 

"I heard him talk on the phone. At first I didn't know what it was about. Then he mentioned something about cortisone and a 'he'. I wasn't sure at first, but the way he talked about it, he wanted whoever the he was to keel over. And that he, my father, was tired of waiting so he ordered the dose to be upped. And then he mentioned Pritchard's name. I connected the dots." 

"And you employed my help and made me an accomplice in your plan." 

"Plan? What plan? I winged the whole thing and hoped for the best." 

"Yet, the worst happened." 

"Listen, I know you probably want to punch me right now, and you have every right to. But I had to do it. It could have been you in this bed. Or worse." Mac whispered the last words and Jack's gaze softened. 

"I am not annoyed. I am worried. And I'd never punch you, you know that." 

"You looked like you wanted to." 

"I want to punch your father, bud, not you." 

"Yeah, me too. So, you are not mad." 

"I was pissed off at first. But then realized why you did it. And I know I would have done the same, so I'd be a hypocrite if I lectured you on it. But next time, tell me first and we'll deal with it together. Okay?" 

"Oh, so you are planning on getting poisoned again? Should have known." 

"You know what I mean, smartass." But there was no bite in the words. 

Jack was relieved Mac was okay. They had a long recovery process ahead of them. Jack refused to start until Mac felt better enough so they could start together. Mac wasn't getting out of his eyesight for longer than a bathroom break and Jack was adamant about it.

As for James... anger didn't even come close to how Jack felt. 

...

Jack was uncomfortable, Mac could see that from the corner of his eye. But Jack pretended like he was engrossed in his crossword puzzle. His laser-like focus eyed the page like it was target practice at the shooting range. It wasn't like Jack didn't know that the answer to 10 horizontal was cabbage, but the pain was probably too strong and he was caught between just releasing a scream or riding it out until it passed. And one thing Jack Dalton would do was to advise you to let it out, but he never did that himself. Always holding on to the pain until the last possible second.

Mac was caught between calling Jack on it, or riding out the muscle cramp that crested in his thigh all of a sudden. It was one of those days where the chelation day was taking a toll on both of them, but they didn't want to admit it. 

Matty called them stubborn bastards. 

There was movement at the door of the room where they got their treatment and at first Mac couldn't see who it was. When the figure advanced to where Mac sat, he could see that it was his father. 

His hackles went up, because his father was practically unreachable in the last few months in the aftermath of the Pritchard incident. It was like he knew that Mac was on to him and he hid away once again. At that point Mac had other problems, and couldn't care less if his father left him again. It was better for him actually, because Mac knew for a fact that Jack's right hand was itching to connect with his father's face. And with trying to kill Jack by poisoning him, he sealed his fate and all his current and future attempts to make amends with Mac.

Mac pretended like he was engrossed in his own crossword puzzle even when he felt eyes on him. 

"Angus. I was told I could find you here. We need to talk." 

...

Jack immediately looked up from the paper and carefully slid it to the table on his right, together with his glasses when he heard someone entering the room. His right hand twitched for a gun that wasn't there and then closed into a fist. 

"Bold of you to assume I want to talk to you."

"I want to apologize." 

Jack snorted, because they were past the apology phase by now. And it was bold of James to assume that Mac would just accept his apology. Just how twisted was this man's brain to think that after all he did to his son, it would be easy to waltz back in his life and demand forgiveness once again. Even if he didn't want to kill him, James had done so much damage already, and Jack had enough. 

"That's rich, coming from you." 

Mac didn't break eye contact and it felt like an eternity before James loomed in over where Mac was sitting, his face hard and unreadable. He tried to intimidate Mac and Jack all but growled.

"You will not talk to me like that." 

"You lost the right to be talked to in any way when you started poisoning Jack." 

Mac dropped the bomb and James feigned innocence, acting surprised. They figured he might play that angle, and they were prepared. Jack just didn't think James would be so careless to show his face at the hospital. And then had the audacity to act surprised when Mac mentioned the poisoning. 

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Yeah, right. The reason Pritchard was fired from Phoenix Med and his license revoked was because he was incompetent. That son of a bitch was poisoning Jack on your orders." 

"Watch your mouth son. I won't tolerate this!" 

James lashed out of rage and slapped Mac on the face. Mac was momentarily stunned and didn't move. It was the last straw as Jack carefully removed his IV and set it aside. Jack got up from his chair and moved towards James, dragging him bodily away from Mac.

"Get your paws off him, Jim." 

"Dalton, stay out of it." 

"Oh, no, no. I would have. Before you slapped your son. Before you almost killed me." Jack growled. 

Jack noticed James moving, preparing to hit him, when a strong, yet skinny arm caught James' arm in mid-swing. In one swift movement James was turned around and he was being punched. By Mac.

Blood spurted from James' nose, definitely broken and Jack had only a split of the second to catch Mac before he swayed on his feet, bloody knuckles on his right hand and a very red handprint on his left cheek. 

Jack held him in his embrace and Mac curled up into him as Jack slowly led him back to the chair. 

The nurses heard the commotion and came to check on them. Amidst all the chaos, Jack found himself smiling, proud of his boy for standing up to James. 

"Thought you promised to leave the punching to me, hoss." Jack couldn't help but tease Mac. 

Mac huffed indignantly. 

"Well, I called first dibs. He should know better than to touch you by now." 

"That's true. Thanks, Mac."

"I'm pretty sure I should be the one to thank you, but you are welcome." 

In a minute Jack would stand up and deal with James, but right in that moment he was content to stay with Mac. 

It wasn't over. Not by a long shot. But they had each other to get themselves through it. And that was all that mattered. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
